Category: Healthy Recipes

Superfoods. The new “must have” in the healthy living society. So, first of all, what is a superfood? Superfoods are packed with nutrients to provide the body with vitamins and minerals in order to thrive, survive and just feel amazing!

Growing up, I never knew much about nutrition. I just ate any crap that I could find in the house: pancakes filled with sugar and cinnamon, “vetkoek”, heaps of cookies, etc. When I started staying on my own and learning to cook, I always looked for easy things. A boxed meal or 2 Minute Noodles was for dinner most nights. Unfortunately, we can’t eat like that forever. My belly started growing, my thighs were getting bigger, and I developed that granny arm fat!

I knew I couldn’t carry on like this forever, I might end up being obese! I started looking at the conventional way of doing things: “eat less, move more”. Eating less is not something I strive for. I have a huge appetite. So instead, I knew that I was going to have to eat healthier and start some exercise of some form.

Fast forward a few years and the name Superfood came up a lot. So if you are new to this, Wazoogles is the way to go! Why? Okay, first of all, there a like a kazillion superfoods, where the eff do you start looking? Also, have you seen the prices of these things? It’s actually shocking. So the lovely people at Wazoogles came up with a solution. They made a smoothie range which is packed with all the right superfoods, for a reasonable price.

Not only can you make delicious smoothies, you can make smoothie bowls or bake something yum! They have some amazing date ball recipes as well! Everyone who knows me, know that I am the smoothie bowl queen. So below are my favourite smoothie and smoothie bowl recipes using the amazing Wazoogles brand. I also linked the products which I use.

It has been a long week! Now, it’s finally Friday and all you want to do is relax. I don’t know about you guys, but Friday usually consists of an early dinner and a movie on Netflix. They say “Netflix and Chill”, but for us, it is usually “Netflix and Sleep”. Most nights hubby and I are passed out on the couch before 9pm already.

Before all this “Netflix and Sleep” happens, after dinner – I am craving some dessert! I am always the strong one when it comes to buying chocolate. I convince myself with “you have enough treats” or “you don’t actually have money for this”. Most times this tactic works.

So, along comes last Friday. We are ready to “Netflix and Sleep” and I am craving chocolate. I decided to create my own Healthy Chocolate Recipe. I have cocoa in the house, throw in some coconut oil and milk and there you go. Include some protein powder, and you have a healthy snack as well! It’s a win-win situation. The original recipe I created tasted a little bit oily, so I reduced the amount of coconut oil and added some extra milk to make it extra creamy.

In the time we live in we are always looking for quick fixes. How many times have you typed into Google: “how to lose weight fast” and even “how to make money fast”? Unfortunately, things just don’t happen so easily. Sometimes, all it takes is some plain, old-school hard work. Lucky for you, I made this amazing recipe that will save you loads of time. If you want a quick snack that will fill you up and satisfy your sweet tooth, read along!

I decided to play around with some recipes and created this amazing 5 min Mug Cake Recipe. It is so easy to make, packed with all the nutrients (see benefits of all ingredients below) and you can even personalize it and make it your own!

Contains potassium, which is good for lowering blood pressure and heart health.

It is high in fibre, which aids in digestive health.

Easy to digest (so it’s good when you have a tummy bug)

Contains loads of vitamin C and vitamin B6 (used to grow new cells)

Coconut Flour

High in fibre, protein and healthy fats.

Free from wheat and gluten.

Helps the digestive system by lowering the “bad” cholesterol and serum triglycerides.

Protein Powder

Protein powder is basically a convenient way to add extra protein to your diet – I always explain it in a very simple way: protein powder is like eating loads of egg whites or a chicken breast, just yummier!

Chia Seeds

High in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

High in fibre.

Good for heart health.

Cocoa Powder

Full of antioxidants.

Antidepressant effects (it boosts endorphins)

Maca Powder

Balances your hormones, boosts the immune system and increases energy.

Considered an adaptogen, which means it helps the body adapt to stressors.

I have been in the baking mood for the past couple of months. Always trying out new recipes, and making huge flops of them, of course! The last couple of days I have been on the hunt for an easy fudgy type recipe. Now the first issue I have with the recipes: there is a ridiculous amount of coconut oil going into these fudge recipes. Now I am all for coconut oil and the amazing benefits, but it is still oil, which means FAT. So basically all these fudge recipe are just high fat.

The second issue that I have is my flatmate. Even though I love her dearly, her peanut allergy makes it impossible for me to find a fudge recipe, since all the fudge recipes has nuts in them! (Even though I think it’s good that she is allergic to nuts, or else we would just never have peanut butter in the house).

So a few months ago, flatmate and I bought ourselves Kayla Itsines’ 28 Day Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Guide. To anyone who does not have this book yet, what are you even doing?? There are such amazing recipes inside of this book, I use this book about every second day and I am always finding new recipes I want to try. So last night I went through the sweet treats and came across a delicious Sweet Potato Brownie Recipe! Yay! Finally! Something new I can try! I edited this recipe according to my flatmate’s needs (nut free) and I added some protein powder (because gainz).

You are welcome to also edit the recipe if you wish, I am sure it would taste amazing with some nuts, maybe add some chocolate chips (you can never have enough chocolate). Give it a try and let me know how it tastes!

Delicious Gluten Free, Nut Free Sweet Potato Brownie:

(Makes 16 brownies)

Ingredients:

2 Medium Sweet Potatoes

60g Protein Powder of choice

1 tsp Cinnamon

10 Medjool Dates

1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder

1/8 Cup Honey / Maple Syrup

Method:

Peel the sweet potatoes and steam until soft. Mash up sweet potatoes in a bowl.

Place dates in warm water for a few minutes until softened, then chop up.

We are all guilty of this. You’ve had a tough week, you cannot wait until Friday to see your friends and relax. So what happens? Usually in my case, my friends invite me for a braai (or Barbecue for the Americans).

So the process goes as follow: I finish work, stop by the shop, buy myself a bottle of wine, snacks for the braai (usually popcorn) and any sides needed. We get there, I have a glass of wine and dig into the chips! By the time the chips are finished, it’s about 8pm and I am stuffed. The boys are having such a good time, they don’t even realise that none of us have actually eaten a good meal. By the time they do realise this, it’s after 10pm already. They start to prepare the braai for the food, put the meat on and we only eat at after 11pm.

Next, everyone gets tired and we all go home with full tummies and feeling sick. The next morning we wake up feeling terrible. People tell you to have a greasy meal afterwards, but that is actually the worst thing you can do. Feeling this one too many times, I decided to do some research regarding foods to eat the next day. Here is what I found:

1. Bananas

The first thing that most websites lists are bananas. Bananas are easy to digest and they contain pectin, which firms up loose stools.

2. Ginger and Cinnamon

Ginger relieves nausea as well as vomiting. Add some fresh ginger to herbal tea, with some lemon and honey in order to mask the flavour. Add some cinnamon to toast or oats.

3. Yoghurt

Most people advice you not to have any diary while having an upset stomach, but plain yoghurt helps to balance out the stomach and restores all the good bacteria in the tummy.

4. Eggs

Eggs are filled with amino acids, such as cysteine and taurine. Cysteine assists in breaking down acetaldehyde while Taurine boosts liver function – remember, your liver worked pretty hard last night!

I found all of this so interesting, but I wanted to create a quick and easy recipe to fight the hangover blues. Something that you can quickly get up and make, and slip right back into bed and rest for another hour or so.

Easy Hangover Cure:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 banana

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Add oats to a bowl with some warm water. (Enough to cover oats and a little more)

Microwave for 1 min 30 seconds.

Add cinnamon to oats and mix.

Slice banana in coins and add it on top of the oats. Add some honey to sweeten it a little.

To drink, have some herbal tea (I drink green tea) add some lemon juice and honey (optional) to sweeten.

Are you looking for the best lunch spot in Cape Town? Melissa’s have a few branches, from Kloof street in Cape Town to Paarl. They have a huge breakfast menu. I have had their banana bread before and it is a must try!

Arriving here, I was served quite quick and offered a menu. I had a question about the sandwiches, but the waiter seemed to be unsure. He called another lady though who helped me really quick. Previously I’ve had a “bacon jam” sandwich here and I was really excited to have it again, but they seem to have taken it off the menu. I then settled on the BLT sandwich. I really enjoyed the sandwich, the rye bread was so fresh and the bacon just crispy enough so that it wasn’t difficult to chew (yes, I have experienced this before).

Melissa’s will definitely see me again soon! They have a buffet style table, where they weigh the food. It looked amazing! I will be back to try this out!

With winter approaching, we’re all looking for some comfort food and cute little cafe’s. I have been eyeing Honeybun for a while now. Situated in a prime spot in Greenmarket Square, with big Truth Coffee umbrellas in front of the entrance, it’s definitely impossible to resist having a looking inside.

Entering the cafe, we were greeted with warm smiles on a cold Autumn day. Delicious looking croissants staring at me, begging me to take a bite! The place has a hipster vibe, something fun that caught my eye was an illustration of the different types of coffees. Kept me busy for like half an hour, figuring out the difference between a cappuccino and a flat white!

Those Truth Coffee umbrellas outside tempted me too much for some good coffee. I ordered an Americano. There is an option to have a coffee with Almond milk for R10 extra, but I feel that is a little bit expensive. The coffee arrived warm and warmed me up from the inside, just what I needed.

Unfortunately, as someone who freezes her butt off 95% of the time, I needed something warmer. I decided on the Spicy Butternut Soup, but sadly they had just given the last bit to another customer. So next choice was the Cape Malay Chicken Curry and boy, am I glad that they were out of Butternut Soup! They portion was huge for only R80! The curry was accompanied by basmati rice, a large pappadam, sambals and mint raita. I couldn’t even finish the meal! The curry was so flavoursome, the pappadam really tasty and everything combined was just amazing.

I would definitely be back soon to try some other items on the menu. The service was excellent and that croissant is still waiting for me to consume it!